Fans have become restless as the Gators continue to stumble their way through the 2013 season with a 4-5 (3-4 SEC) record. The noise around the system has not been lost on the team or the coaching staff and it apparently hasn’t fallen upon deaf ears among the University of Florida administration either.
In a statement released by the university’s website, athletic director Jeremy Foley spoke publicly about Will Muschamp for the first time since hiring Muschamp in 2010.
“As athletic director, I’m a thousand percent convinced that Will Muschamp is the guy to lead this football program. Nothing has changed in what we feel about Will Muschamp from the day we hired him.” Foley said before continuing on. “Everyone around here wants the same thing. We want to do what is right for the University of Florida. We understand that this football season has not gone the way any of us wanted it to go, certainly not the way our fans wanted it to go, and most of all, not the way Will Muschamp wanted it to go.”
Will Muschamp is 22-13 overall in just shy of three seasons in Gainesville including an 11-2 record last season.
“We have a history of being successful, we have a history of fixing things when they need to be fixed, and that is what is going to happen here, and Coach Muschamp is the one that will fix it,” Foley said. “I understand the passion and the disappointment, but at the end of the day, we’ve got great fans, they love the Gators and their passion makes this place special. They are hurting, they want the program to be successful and we feel that hurt.”
University of Florida President Bernie Machen also made a statement in support of Florida’s embattled head coach saying, “I want the Gator Nation to know that I have full confidence in Coach Muschamp and his leadership of the football program.”
The fact that the athletic director and president of the university had to make a statement in the middle of the season tells you all that you need to know about what has happened to Florida on the football field. It also tells you that the fans are being heard.
“We will get better under Will Muschamp’s leadership,’’ Foley said. “This is not the quote-unquote dreaded ‘vote of confidence.’ This is just how we all feel around here. We have a strong faith and a strong belief in his capabilities, in his leadership skills, in his ability to evaluate what needs to be fixed.”
Foley ended his statement about Muschamp’s future at Florida with a vote of confidence that results like this season will not be the norm at Florida.
“Go back to a year ago: we’re 11-1 and beat four teams in the Top 10 and he was SEC Coach of the Year. I don’t think that was a fluke. I think coaching had a lot to do with that. We’ll stay the course here. We’ll get it right. We’re not going to let Gator fans down. We want the same thing they want.”